PRO EUROPE Quarterly Newsletter

PRO EUROPE Quarterly Newsletter

Page 1

Kind regards,

Joachim Quoden

Managing Director

PRO EUROPE

Dear readers, Welcome to the autumn 2012 edition of our PRO EUROPE newsletter! In this edition, you will find an overview of some recent EU policy developments of relevance to PRO EUROPE’s priorities, this time including, inter alia, the Commission’s s t u d y o n W a s t e Management Performance of EU Member States. The newsletter also gives you a glimpse of recent PRO EUROPE activities and members’ news.

As part of the work that we carry out on waste prevention, we were happy to launch a new website dedicated specifically to this topic in the summer. You can read more about this initiative on page two. The PRO EUROPE members’ section provides information about inspiring initiatives and developments at national level. I hope that you will find the content of interest!

Editorial

PRO EUROPE Members

PRO EUROPE LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE ON WASTE PREVENTION

2

COMMISSION STUDY ON WASTE MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE OF EU MEMBER STATES

3

FRANCE: NEW AWARE-

NESS CAMPAIGN FOR WASTE SORTING

4

SPAIN: ECOEMBES JOINS “FORO SOSTENIBLE”

6

PLASTICS PROCESSING IN DENMARK: “AN IM-

PORTANT CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS RESOURCE PREVENTION”

8

DEBATE OVER THE EFFEC-

TIVE APPROACH TO EPR

CONTINUES IN THE US

10

Highlights in this issue:

October 2012

Published by Weber Shandwick

PRO EUROPE Quarterly Newsletter

Welcome to visit our websites!

www.pro-e.org www.proeurope4prevention.org

P R O E U R O P E N E W S L E T T E R — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

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IN FOCUS

PRO EUROPE at the ISWA Conference on Solid Waste

PRO EUROPE Launches New Website on Waste Prevention

PRO EUROPE hopes that the

website will help create

awarenes s about t he

importance of taking actions

that contribute to this.

For more information visit

www.proeurope4prevention.o

rg or see the PRO EUROPE

press release on the website

here.

clients. Examples include eco-

design tools, ‘design for

recycling’ advices, best

p r a c t i c e c a t a l o g u e s ,

trainings, awards, and more.

The website also provides

visitors with up to date

information about packaging

trends, eco-design, waste

prevention as well as

packaging legislation and its

environmental requirements.

Waste prevention is on the

top of the EU’s waste

management hierarchy and

As part of the work to

contribute to reducing the

environmental impact of

packaging, PRO EUROPE

launched a new website this

summer , wh ich dea ls

particularly with the issue of

waste prevention.

T h e w e b s i t e ,

www.proeurope4prevention.

org, will serve as a platform

gathering a wide range of

waste prevention initiatives

that PRO EUROPE members

have proposed to their

One of the illustrations on the new PRO

EUROPE website.

PRO EUROPE was well

represented at the 2012

edition of the ISWA

(International Solid Waste

Association) Congress on

Solid Waste which took

place in Florence on 17-19

September 2012

Managing Director, Joachim

Q u o d e n , g a v e a

p r e s e n t a t i o n o n

‘Implementation of the Europe

Packaging Directive –

Evaluation of the Current

Status and Outlook for the

Next Years’ during a session

on Waste Prevent ion.

Representatives from PRO

EUROPE members Nedvang,

CONAI and Fost Plus also

gave presentations on

producer responsibility,

touching upon issues such as

their respective systems,

prevention initiatives and

communication campaigns.

This congress, to which several

i n t e r n a t i o n a l k e y n o t e

speakers had been invited,

focused, inter alia , on

recycling, waste prevention,

problems of developing

countries as well as issues such

as climate change and waste.

P R O E U R O P E N E W S L E T T E R — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

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EU POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

Commission Study on Waste Management Performance of EU Member States

On 7 August, the Commission

released a study, available

here, conducted by BiPRO on

w a s t e m a n a g e m e n t

performance across the

Union.

The study reveals striking

differences between EU

countries and suggests that

many face the risk of failing

on the 2020 target for

recycling municipal waste.

Ten Member States have

been identified as the worst-

performing countries in waste

management.

Among the best performing

countries in terms of

d e v e l o p m e n t a n d

implementation of recycling

systems are, according to

BiPRO, Austria, Belgium,

Denmark, Germany, the

Netherlands and Sweden.

According to the study,

Southern European and

newer Member States are

identified as the worst

offenders regarding poor

municipal waste management

in the EU.

On the basis of the study, the

ten worst performing states

will be singled out for

attention by the Commission.

As a result, roadmaps with

recommendations for these

Member States will be

prepared after discussion

with national authorities,

which are taking place this

The action plans will seek to

help the target countries to

imp ro ve t he i r wa s te

management performance

through economic, legal and

administrative tools, in

conjunction with EU funds.

In late August, PRO EUROPE

published a press release,

available here, welcoming

the study.

THE STUDY REVEALS

STRIKING

DIFFERENCES

BETWEEN EU

COUNTRIES AND

SUGGESTS THAT

MANY FACE THE

RISK OF FAILING ON

THE 2020 TARGET

FOR RECYCLING

MUNICIPAL WASTE

Commission Green Paper on Plastic Waste in the Pipeline

In the context of its work on

resource efficiency, the

Commission is in the process

of developing a Green

Paper on Plastic Waste.

According to EU Environment

C o m m i s s i o n e r , J a n e z

Potočnik, the paper “should

help find a strategic response

to the environmentally

responsible and resource

efficient use of plastic

including its end of life

phase”. The Paper is currently

in the internal consultation

p r o c e s s w i t h i n t h e

Commission, and no date has

yet been set for its

publication.

The Commission is also going

to publish a Commission Staff

Working Paper (SWP) on

Marine Litter in the coming

weeks. The SWP was initially

intended to be adopted

alongside the Green Paper.

However, a political decision

was recently made to adopt

t h e t w o d o c u m e n t s

separately.

On the topic of marine litter,

three studies contracted by

the Commission under a

f ramework programme

entitled ‘Plastic Recycling

C y c l e a n d M a r i n e

Environmental Impact’ are

also ongoing, and expected

for publication early next

year.

The outcome of the three

studies will feed into an

upcoming conference on this

topic in Apri l 2013,

organised by the Commission

in Germany.

THE GREEN PAPER

“SHOULD HELP FIND

A STRATEGIC

RESPONSE TO THE

ENVIRONMENTALLY

RESPONSIBLE AND

RESOURCE EFFICIENT

USE OF PLASTIC,

INCLUDING ITS END

OF LIFE PHASE”

P R O E U R O P E N E W S L E T T E R — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

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End of Waste Criteria for Glass Agreed

PRO EUROPE MEMBERS’ NEWS

New Awareness Campaign for Waste Sorting

Biodegradable waste with a

view to deliver reports to the

Commission in the coming

weeks.

The preliminary studies for

Aggregates and Waste

Derived Fuels, carried out by

external consultants, were

finalised this summer. After the

JRC has analyzed these, the

Commission will decide

whether work will continue to

develop end of waste criteria

or not.

The JRC page on EoW criteria

can be visited here.

publication is expected by

the end of the year.

The same regu la tory

committee, however, failed to

agree on EoW criteria for

scrap copper and recovered

paper. While the criteria for

paper is temporarily being

held back as the Commission

coordinates its position on the

proposal, copper is being

referred to the Council and

European Parliament for

potential adoption.

As regards other criteria

under development, the JRC

is currently in the process of

integrating the comments

received to the working

documents on Plastic and

On 9 July, an EU regulatory

committee agreed on End of

Waste (EoW) criteria for

glass cullet. Under the new

rules, only glass cullet

destined for remelting can be

considered a product instead

of waste. This measure is

expected to encourage the

use of glass cullet for

remelting which can be used

in a number of fields,

including in glass furnace and

road constructions. According

to the Commission’s Joint

Research Centre, it is

estimated that over 80% of

glass collected across Europe

will meet EoW criteria after

proper sorting and treatment.

Final adoption and

ACCORDING TO THE

COMMISSION’S JOINT

RESEARCH CENTRE, IT IS

ESTIMATED THAT OVER

80% OF GLASS

COLLECTED ACROSS

EUROPE WILL MEET EOW

CRITERIA AFTER PROPER

SORTING AND

TREATMENT

authorities so that everyone

can relay the message and

amplify the Butterfly Effect.

To celebrate 20 years since

waste sorting and recycling

were implemented in France,

Eco-Emballages pays homage

to the consumer. By using the

Green Dot, everyone can

take action. Every action can

appear tiny at the beginning,

but everyone acting together

gives it real power.

This campaign also involves a

set of web and publishing

tools available to member

companies and local

Launched on television on 17

September, the new Eco-

Emballages campaign is

continuing in October on radio

and through social networks.

To find our films, you can click

here. Looking beyond its

quantitative impact, which will

influence more than 85% of

the French population, it will

have a positive effect on

perceptions. Using a simple

and specific message, it

proves the benefits of

recycling and provides

guidelines to reduce sorting

errors. An example of Eco-Emballages’ new

awareness campaign in France

P R O E U R O P E N E W S L E T T E R — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

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Recycling Messages on Packaging

Last year, Green Dot Cyprus

launched a program named

“GDC Partner” through which

companies promote their

C o r p o r a t e S o c i a l

Responsibility and at the

same time promote recycling

and our work. Many

companies have so far

utilized the program, and

along with our Organization,

they have implemented a

variety of actions aiming to

inform people about the

importance of recycling.

One of the latest initiatives

through the program was the

recycling marking on the

companies’ packaging. More

spec i f i ca l l y , r e cy c l i ng

messages are printed on the

packag ing to i n fo rm

consumers in which category

(PMD, Paper, Glass), the

specific package is recycled.

So far, more than 15

companies have already

printed these messages on

their packages.

Repak Ireland Continues Social Media Promotion

Repak is driving their social

media week on week having

had a presence on both

Twitter and Facebook for

over two years now.

The Repak Recyclemore

Facebook page was created

in July 2010 and they have

since then grown the

followers on their page to

over 9,072. They pride in

ensuring the content that is

posted on the page is

current and up to date so

that it will engage consumers,

hold their attention and

encourage them to follow

Repak’s packaging recycling

messages as well as their

other environmental threads

and posts.

Repak recently ran a

competition in June driving

Recyclemore App which is

available on both the iTunes

and Google play and which

h a s a l m o s t 1 0 , 0 0 0

d o w n l o a d s . R e p a k ’ s

Recyclemore app helps the

Irish community to find their

nearest recycling centre or

bottle bank. During this

competit ion their total

impressions were 7,142,243,

with their net social reach

coming to a total of

1,305,110.

P R O E U R O P E N E W S L E T T E R — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

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This platform, created by

Entorno- BCSD Foundation,

has two goals: First of all, to

promote healthier and more

sustainable lifestyles among

the consumers and secondly,

to create a common place for

innovat ion where the

companies which are

members can share their

know-how in recycling, health

and sustainability issues with

society.

In order to accomplish these

ob jec t ives , an on l ine

communication campaign

named ‘Consume con cabeza’

has been launched and it will

operate until next year. It

consists of a website where

each company shares tips for

recycling, re-using products,

producing less garbage and

saving materials and money.

In addition, consumers can

contribute by sharing their

own saving or recycling tips

and win several prizes.

In order to demonstrate that

the recycling of used

packaging is an important

step on the path towards the

sustainable development,

Ecoembes joined Foro

Sostenible, an initiative

powered by a group of

companies – such as Nestlé,

Unilever and Mango - which

have a common commitment

t o s o c i e t y a nd t he

environment and whose aim is

to promote sustainable

consumer behaviors and

healthy lifestyles.

Reciclar é Dar e Receber Campaign Wins Awards

In 2012, SPV, Entrajuda and

SIC Esperança are together

again, with the help of

c o n s u m e r b e h a v i o u r ,

equipping or improving 25

new study rooms by recycling

used glass packaging. As in

2012, SPV will donate one

euro for every tonne of glass

sent for recycling to set up

these spaces for the children

of disadvantaged families.

Last year, the Recycling is

Giving and Receiving project,

undertaken in partnership

with Entrajuda and SIC

Esperança, made the dream

of thousands of children of

having a better place to

study come true. Thanks to

consumer efforts, around

1,000 children now have a

better place to study, after

the installation of 30 study

rooms at private charities,

five more than originally

planned at the start of the

campaign in early 2011.

Sociedade Ponto Verde’s

advertising campaign won

the best Social Responsibility

Film by Meios & Publicidade

and the Mot ivat iona l

Campaign category of the

Green Project Awards 2012,

both national prizes.

The work that SPV has been

doing to increase recycling

was thus recognised with

these two awards. They also

showed the decisive role that

organisations can play in

society, in this case fighting

poverty by promoting

children's education.

Ecoembes Joins “Foro Sostenible”

P R O E U R O P E N E W S L E T T E R — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

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Decade of Packaging Waste in Slovenia with Slopak

It has been already a

decade since the beginning

of Slopak. More than 1

million tons of waste

packaging has been licensed

through Slopak’s system and

more than 700.000 tons

were treated. Throughout the

yea r s , t he c o mpa ny

expanded its activities.

Slopak supports its clients

with waste management for

waste tyres, electrical waste

and electronic equipment,

phytopharmaceutical waste,

medical waste and batteries.

This means, the clients can get

complete waste management

at one place. Entering the

second decade is crucial for

Slopak on several levels.

From 2011, a new general

manager, Matej Stražiščar,

was nominated.

The company went through

quite a turbulent year

because of the system’s

shortage but finally managed

to be supportive towards the

system with good data and

also experiences from other

countries, shared through PRO

EUROPE. Finally, they entered

summer with a renewed logo,

slogan, design and brochure.

The Slopak Team

The Slopak Brochure

P R O E U R O P E N E W S L E T T E R — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

Page 8

Plastics Processing in Denmark: “An Important

Contribution Towards Resource Prevention”

municipalities who want to do

more in terms of recycling.”

The facility in Fredericia has

a capacity of 20000 tons of

mixed plastic waste a year

(PE, PP, PVC) and has

created 12 jobs so far.

Fredericia was officially

inaugurated.

DKRaastoffer prepares

plastic waste from Danish

municipalities for recycling.

This will then be recovered in

Europe, and need not be

disposed of in refuse

incineration plants or even

shipped to China without

being sorted. “The facility is

thus making an important

contribution to resource

c o n s e r v a t i o n a n d a

sustainable supply of raw

materials in Denmark”,

emphasized Stefan Schreiter.

“This secures jobs in Denmark

and offers a problem-solving

option for Danish

Duales System Holding and

Scrap Solutions set up

DKRaastoffer A/S as a joint

venture

Cologne/Fredericia, 10

September 2012. “ In

Fredericia, we are founding

the basis for a high-quality

recycling operation in terms

of both economic viability

and ecological awareness”,

declared Stefan Schreiter,

Managing Partner and CEO

of DSD – Duales System

Holding GmbH & Co. KG.

With an opening ceremony,

the new plastics processing

facility of DKRaastoffer A/S

in the Danish city of

“THE FACILITY IS THUS

MAKING AN IMPORTANT

CONTRIBUTION TO

RESOURCE

CONSERVATION AND A

SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY OF

RAW MATERIALS IN

DENMARK”.

DSD Managing Partner and CEO

Stefan Schreiter speaking about the

new plastics processing facility in

Frederica, Denmark.

Green Tour

the largest and one of the

most recognizable tours in

Poland. During the summer

they have been to 20 cities

across the country and aired

on Polskie Radio Program I.

During open-air concerts,

t h e y c o n d u c t e d a n

educat ional campaign,

promoting selective waste

collection.

For all the participants of

these events Rekopol created

an outdoor educational and

i n f o r m a t i o n a l b o o t h

promoting selective waste

collection systems and

re cy c l i ng . E co - t hemed

crosswords and puzzles for

children were set up, and

adults could demonstrate

their knowledge in various

competitions.

Additionally, in several cities

our actions were supported

by partners with whom they

c o n d u c t e d r e c y c l i n g

collect ion. The money

obtained from the sale of

r e c y c l a b l e m a t e r i a l s

collected in one of the cities

was donated to charity.

Rekopol is pleased to be

able to promote the

segregation of waste live on

the radio, and during a

nation-wide tour which was

attended by approximately

500 000 people.

This year, Rekopol Recovery

Organization S.A. was a

partner of "Lato z Radiem" -

P R O E U R O P E N E W S L E T T E R — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

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Belgians Sort in Out-of-Home Situations, Just as they do at

Home

Fost Plus has developed a

un iform communicat ion

approach to waste sorting

projects in out-of-home

s i t ua t io n s . Wi t h t h i s

approach, Fost Plus wants to

ensure that the sorting reflex

becomes evident outside the

home. The challenge: a

standardised communication

approach, but with respect

for the uniqueness of the

diversity of the various

sorting contexts.

Fost Plus chose the uniform

headline ‘We sort waste

here too, just like at home.”

This reference to the situation

at home is no coincidence, as

Belgians are already real

recycling champions. In

addition, a new sorting

pictogram was developed.

Complementary to this, a

series of awareness raising

posters were developed. The

sorting action is on the

f o reg ro und , b u t t he

graphical ly developed

image in the background,

combined with the choice of

the character used, enables

a clear reference to a

specific context.

Thanks to this uniform

communication approach, it

will soon become clear to

everyone that sort ing

packaging is not limited

anymore to the household

context. At the airport, in the

park, whilst camping or in

your sports centre, we sort

too. Just like at home.

Fost Plus posters encouraging citizens to recycle in out-of-home situations

P R O E U R O P E N E W S L E T T E R — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

Page 10

Debate Over the Effective Approach to EPR Continues in the US

THE NORTH AMERICAN CORNER

Stagnant recycling rates in

the US have been gaining

considerable public sector

and industry attention. As a

result there is greater

demand for a coordinated

government and industry

effort to increase recycling of

v a l u a b l e e n d - o f - l i f e

packaging materials.

Although EPR is gaining

traction, there is debate over

the approach. Some groups

f a v o u r f u n d a m e n t a l

regulatory change while

others believe that legal

efforts will be unsuccessful in

gaining public support and

instead propose voluntary

programs and initiatives.

R e c e n t l y , i n d u s t r y ,

e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d

government leaders have

gathered in several different

forums to devise plans to

boast US recycling rates. The

Cradle2 coalit ion and

Recycling Reinvented have

been advocates of legislated

EPR, demonstrating this

through active support of

recent state bills in favour of

EPR.

Groups supporting voluntary

based efforts to improve

recovery of packaging

materials include: the

Sus tainable Packaging

Association; the American

Institute for Packaging and

the Environment (AMERIPEN)

and Action to Accelerate.

C o l l e c t i v e l y t h e s e

organizations represent 90

industry and government

leaders, most sharing the

sent iment that h igher

recycling rates can be

achieved more effectively in

the absence of legal

mandates.

Debate over the appropriate

approach is expected to

continue with all stakeholders

seeking out the most efficient

and cost effective solution.